Color Selection, Coordination and Purchase System

ABSTRACT

A paint color selection website arranged to provide a plurality of home pages each comprising a featured project image, each project image employing a plurality of different colors, each color located in a respective region of the image with at least one “hot spot” located in one or more of the regions, each hot spot comprising an attention-drawing animation feature responsive to a first selection operation to cause display of at least one color name, the color name being that of the color of the region where the hot spot lies. The home pages further may include real-life simulating animation features while the system software is operable to select the relative frequency with which each home page appears in response, for example, to a user&#39;s successive home page selections. An animated color sheen selection tool is also provided.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/227,737, filed Jul. 22, 2009, entitled,“Improved Color Selection, Coordination and Purchase System,” thecontents of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The subject disclosure relates to improvements in color selection,coordination and/or purchase systems, such as may be used, for example,by a consumer to select paint colors for a painting project.

2. Related Art

In the past, color selection, coordination and/or purchase systems havebeen available to consumers over the Internet, for example, via awebsite. The Internet is comprised of a large number of computers andcomputer networks that are connected via various communicationsprotocols (e.g., HTTP, FTP, POP3, SMTP) that utilize numeroustechnologies for delivering functionality to a client computer. Theinterconnected computers exchange information using various servicesincluding the World Wide Web (“WWW”). The WWW service allows a servercomputer and application to provide storage of files and manage thedelivery of functionality predominately through what is referred to asweb pages. Navigation to these unique web pages on the network isspecified using a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) that identifies thecomputer server that stores the files and the name of the file ofinterest. These web pages generally use various markup languages (e.g.,HTML, XML, XSL, Javascript) that allow for presentation of text,graphics, audio and video media, and other formats of informationaldata. These web pages can also provide a support environment fordisplaying additional technologies often referred to as active contentthat provides enhanced interaction with the delivered content versus thestatic content that is usually represented as text, graphics, audio, orvideo. A person with a computer and a software system referred to as a“browser” can connect to the network such as the Internet via atelephone line, DSL connection, or other means to gain access to theserver and the web pages that deliver the active technologies andinformation and the accompanying ability to interact with theinformation and functionality presented.

SUMMARY

In an illustrative embodiment, a paint color selection website isarranged to supply or transmit one or more home pages each comprising afeatured project image, each image employing a plurality of differentcolors, each color located in a respective region of the image. At leastone “hot spot” is located in one or more of the regions.

In an illustrative embodiment, a hot spot comprises an attention-drawinganimation feature responsive to a first selection operation to causedisplay of at least one color name, the color name being that of thecolor of the region where said hot spot lies. The hot spots may furtherbe responsive to a second selection operation to display a color summarymenu comprising a listing of a plurality of colors present in theproject image and still further responsive to the first selectionoperation to display a link to the color summary menu. Animation of thehot spot or hot spots may be provided in a number of ways, for example,by causing them to pulse or blink and/or to enlarge upon touching by acursor, the cursor being controlled, for example, by a personal computer“mouse”. In other embodiments, a first selection operation, such as, forexample, “mousing over” a hot spot causes display of anotherinformational element such as a product name of a product on which thehot spot lies. A second selection operation, such as, for example,clicking on the hot spot navigates the user to a product details page,which may provide product ordering and other information.

The one or more home pages may further include real-life simulatinganimation features, for example, to attract user interest and attention.For example, the project image may comprise a home with a front lawnwherein the animation comprises causing water to appear to spray fromone or more sprinklers disposed on the lawn. As another example, theproject image may comprise an interior room having a fireplace whereinthe animation comprises causing the fireplace to appear to be burning.

According to another aspect of various embodiments, first and a secondhome pages comprising respective featured project images are provided,and the system software is operable to select the relative frequencywith which each home page appears in response, for example, to a user'ssuccessive home page selections, as may occur when the user returns tothe home page from another portion of the site.

In various embodiments, the website may further provide a color sheenselection tool, comprising a display of a plurality of color sheenchips, each chip colored to represent a different selected sheen.Touching a selected sheen chip causes an enlarged image of the chip toappear and an additional operation, for example, such as moving a cursorback and forth over a selected chip, causes the chip to pivot slightlyto the left and slightly to the right about a central axis to enhancethe display of the sheen's characteristics.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative system for implementing apaint color selection, coordination and purchase system according to anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a first home page of an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a second home page of an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates the display which appears on the second home page inan illustrative embodiment when a user touches a hot spot present on thesecond home page;

FIG. 5 illustrates a color summary contextual menu appearing on a homepage;

FIG. 6 illustrates the menu of FIG. 5 after certain colors have beenselected by the user;

FIG. 7 illustrates a “My ColorSamples” menu appearing on a home page;

FIG. 8 illustrates a “promotions pane” appearing on a home page;

FIGS. 9, 10, and 11 illustrate respective pull down menus accessible ona home page according to an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 12 illustrates a virtual color center (“VCC”) web page;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the virtual color center displayed inFIG. 12

FIG. 14 illustrates display of one of the color family groups containedin the VCC display;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the color family group of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 illustrates a color style card screen display;

FIG. 17 illustrates the screen display presented after the style card ofFIG. 16 is opened by a selection operation;

FIG. 18 illustrates the appearance of a “Color Summary” page on thedisplay of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a display of a color stripe card in an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 20 illustrates appearance of a “Color Summary” block on the displayof FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 illustrates display of a saturated color chip in an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 22 is an illustrates display of a “Browse Our Products” page;

FIG. 23 illustrates an “Interior Paints and Primers” page;

FIG. 24 illustrates a display of interior paints reached from thedisplay of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 illustrates an interior color sheen tool according to anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 26 illustrates a display screen displaying exterior paints;

FIG. 27 illustrates an exterior paint color sheen tool;

FIG. 28 illustrates an “Our Galleries” web page according to anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 29 illustrates a drop down menus appearing on the page of FIG. 28;

FIG. 30 illustrates a display screen produced when “rooms” is selectedon the drop down menu of FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 illustrates a Color Summary menu appearing in the screen of FIG.30;

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram illustrating a quadrant layout scheme fora virtual color center; and

FIG. 33 is a system block diagram of another website embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating a content management system.

FIG. 35 illustrates a display screen showing the channels defined in thecontent management system for managing website content;

FIG. 36 illustrates a control page for adjusting the probability ofdisplaying of alternative home pages;

FIG. 37 illustrates animation employed in connection with selection of acolor family;

FIG. 38 illustrates a web page featuring product hot spots according toan illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 39 is a product detail page reachable from the page of FIG. 38;

FIG. 40 illustrates a web page presenting a brochure card from thevirtual color center of FIG. 13;

FIG. 41 illustrates the brochure card of FIG. 40 in an opened state;

FIG. 42 illustrates a “Color Summary” on the page of FIG. 41;

FIG. 43 illustrates display of a first page of the brochure card of FIG.40; and

FIG. 44-46 illustrate pages of the brochure card of FIG. 40.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system in which multiple remotecomputers 300 may access a paint color selection and coordinationwebsite 301. The website 301 may be coupled to the Internet 303 in orderto provide access to a large number of remote terminals/computers 300,for example, at in-home end user sites. Each remote computer 300controls a display apparatus 305, which may comprise, for example, oneor more CRTs or flat screen computer monitors or displays.

The website 301 may comprise a server engine 309 comprising one or morecomputers, or servers, associated memory 317 and server software such asa server operating system and server application programs. The website301 is arranged to store and transmit a plurality of related documentsor web pages 311 in digital format, for example, such as HTML documents,and further may include a color data base 315 where color data is storedas described, for example, in U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. U.S.2006/0001677 A1, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Itwill be appreciated that the computer controlled display apparatustransforms the digital format web pages into static and/or animatedinteractive visual images for an end user. The associated memory 317 maycomprise a computer readable digital storage media or medium, such as,for example, hard disc storage.

A user may interact with the website 301 over the Internet 303 or othercommunication medium or media via selection operations performed on webpage display screens presented to the user via the display apparatus 305of a remote computer 300. Such selection operations may be performed by,for example, a keyboard, mouse, track ball, touch screen or other dataentry means. In such a manner, various links presented on the displayapparatus 305 may be selected by various point and click, point andtouch, or other selection operations. Various display screens andfunctionality of illustrative embodiments will now be described.

Illustrative embodiments 11, 13 of a home page for a customer-facingpaint color selection and coordination website are shown in FIGS. 2 and3. Each home page, e.g. 12, 13 preferably displays the links necessaryto navigate to all of the key sites and features of the entire websitein a concise and appealing style.

Each home page 11, 13 includes a featured “project image” which servesas the background for that home page. A full image of the featuredproject is displayed to the user when the user lands on the home page.The featured project image may be a painted or paintable interior orexterior structure or other selected image.

The project image displayed on the page 11 of FIG. 2 is that of theexterior of a house, which may feature, for example, blue shutters, e.g.14, white walls, e.g. 15, and a red door 16. The project image shown onthe home page 13 of FIG. 3 comprises an interior room featuring, forexample, olive colored walls 17, a cream colored couch 18, light yellowfireplace 19 and brown chairs 20. Many other project images may, ofcourse, be used.

In one illustrative embodiment, the system may be programmed such that adifferent project image appears each time a user loads the home page,e.g. 11 or 13. In other embodiments, e.g. 11, 13, the various projectimages of available home pages may be rotated randomly with a weightedalgorithm which determines how often an image, e.g. 11, appears, incomparison to other images, e.g. 13. The weight given to each differenthome page may be determined for example, by seasonal marketing and/orother factors.

As one example, the system may be configured to respond to consecutiveaccesses by providing each of the home pages 11, 13, a weightedpercentage of the time, for example, 70% for the page of FIG. 2 and 30%for the page of FIG. 3. The ratio may be made selectable by a contentcontributor at the back end of the system so that the ratio of frequencyof display could be charged to 70% for the page of FIG. 2 and 30% forthe page of FIG. 3 or any other desired ratio. Three or more home pageseach featuring a different project image may be provided and relativefrequencies of appearance selected, e.g. 30% 30% 40% for three projectedimages. Such an embodiment may be arranged such that each time the userreturns to the home page in any particular session, a different homepage is displayed in a selected sequence.

In the illustrative embodiment, each respective home page furtherincludes “hotspots” 21, 23, contextual menus, e.g. 41, FIG. 5, andanimation elements, e.g. 27, 29. The hotspots 21, 23 blink, pulse,and/or enlarge slightly in size to draw the user's attention,encouraging the user to further explore the featured project and thewebsite. In FIG. 2, animation elements 27 comprise lawn sprinklers whichare animated to appear to begin sprinkling water on the lawn shortlyafter the home page 11 is displayed. In FIG. 3, an animated fireplace 29appears to be burning. Such elements are optional in various embodimentsand, in one embodiment, are selectable via a content management systemas hereafter discussed.

The project images may comprise digital photos of an actual home, room,or other image, color corrected and maintained, for example, in JPEGformat. The hotspots, e.g. 21, 23 and the animation elements, e.g. 27,29 are superimposed on the static image and are defined by the systemsoftware for each project image, e.g. 11, 13, as described in moredetail hereafter. In an illustrative embodiment, each animation elementmay comprise a separate “swf” file embedded in the image in apre-defined location.

Content hotspots, e.g. 21, 23, are strategically dispersed throughoutthe project image of each home page 11, 13 and on other pages of thesite to provide the user with details about the home page project imageand the paint products used in the room depicted in that image. Asnoted, location of hotspots on a home page is pre-defined for each roomimage used on the page.

In one embodiment, the hotspot icons, e.g. 21, 23, are displayed as abounded, rounded chip shape (see e.g. FIG. 2), which animates when aparticular page is instantiated. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 4, whenthe user “touches” or “rolls over” the hotspot, e.g. 23, with the cursor38, the hot spot 23 enlarges and two rectangular display areas 37, 39animate to the right of the hot spot 23. The first area 37 contains thecolor name and number of the color of the region or area where the hotspot 23 is located, followed by a “View Color Summary” text link 39appearing beneath the color name and number. When the user clicks on thehot spot 23 or the link 39, the system displays a Color SummaryContextual Menu 41 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The Color Summary Contextual Menu 41 displays a list of all the colorsused in the project image 13. In FIG. 5, these colors are “EgyptianNile,” Wild Honey,” Baked Brie,” and “Swiss Coffee.” From the list ofdisplayed project colors the user may:

-   -   Add one or more of the project colors to the My Color Samples        menu 44 (FIG. 7) by clicking on a selected color, resulting in a        “check mark” 43 appearing adjacent the selected sample, as shown        in FIG. 6, and then clicking the “add to my colors” link.    -   Order samples of one or more of the project colors via an        e-commerce page reached by first selecting the color, resulting        in a check mark 43, and then clicking “order color samples” link        45.    -   Experiment with various usage scenarios using the ColorSmart        color coordination tool, by first selecting the color, resulting        in a check mark 43, and then clicking the “View & Coordinate        with ColorSmart link” 47.        This menu 41 is draggable to any location on the webpage by        clicking and dragging on the top bar of the contextual menu 41.

Clicking the “My Color Samples” link 50 at the bottom right corner ofthe display of FIG. 5 or 6 results in the display of the “My ColorSamples” menu 44 as shown in FIG. 7. As shown, in the illustrativeembodiment, the menu 44 partially overlaps the “Color Summary” menu 41and displays all colors which the user has checked or otherwise selectedon the “Color Summary” menu 41 or elsewhere during navigation throughother parts of the site. In one embodiment, the “My Color Samples” menu44 rises up from the horizontal edge 152 in the direction of arrow 151.In such an embodiment, the arrow 151 reverses position and pointsdownwardly when the menu 44 is fully displayed.

Another hot spot implementation is illustrated in FIGS. 38 and 39. FIG.38 shows a web page featuring construction site including four stacks501, 503, 505, 506 of paint products, in this case, four types of paint.Each stack has a hot spot 507, 509, 511, 512 located on it.

In this embodiment, each hot spot has two outer rings 513, 515 and acenter circle 517. In one embodiment, the outer ring 513 may be gray,the inner ring 515 may be blue, and the center circle 517 orange. Upontouching or rollover with a cursor 518, as shown with respect to hotspot 507, that hot spot enlarges and displays the product name such as“Premium Plus Ultra Interior Flat Enamel” and a “view product detail”link 520. Clicking on the hot spot 507 leads to display of a screenproviding detailed information about the product as shown in FIG. 39.

With respect to animation, when the page of FIG. 38 first instantiates,the hot spots 507, 509, 511, 512 sequentially pop out towards the userto immediately attract attention, then retreat to the smaller size shownin FIG. 38 for hot spots 509, 511 and 512. After retreating, the hotspots 507, 509, 511, 512 blink by becoming more intense in color, thenless intense, then more intense, etc. In this manner, the hot spotsattract the user's attention and allows the user to identify theproducts shown on the page.

During promotional campaigns, a “promotions pane” 59 may be arranged toappear on a particular home page, e.g. 16, shortly after pageinstantiation, as illustrated in FIG. 8. This pane 59 displays one ormore promotional or special offers for products or partner services. Thepromotions pane remains displayed for a brief (configurable) periodafter page instantiation. If the user clicks on one of the displayedpromotions in the pane 59, a Promotion Details page (not shown) isopened, displaying the details of the selected promotion.

Header and Footer Navigation is preferably provided on all websitepages. As shown in FIG. 2, the links 45-50 on the page header mayprovide the user with a means of navigating to the user's shopping cart(link 45), the Products featured on the website (link 47), as well as“Safety”, “Contact Behr” and “About Behr” web pages. Also included inthe header navigation area is a search link 46, allowing the user tospecify a text string used to search across the website. As furthershown in FIG. 2, links 51, 54 provided along the bottom (footer) of eachpage link respectively to a “Careers”, “Press Room”, “Store Locator”pages. Links 52, 53 are also provided in the footer section to a“Privacy Policy” and a “Terms of Use” popup window. A Workbook Bar 55 isalso provided whereby a user can access their workbook, or login via alog in bar located just above the footer navigation fields. Links topromotion process and press room pages may also be provided. In oneembodiment, the footer also contains a link “What do you think of thenew behr.com” that allows users to submit feedback regarding the sitevia an email interface. In one embodiment, the links in the header andfooter are configurable via the CMS as described in more detail below.

On each home page, e.g. 11, 13 as with most pages on the website,primary navigation of the features of the site is via the main pull-downmenus 31, 32, 33 shown in FIGS. 9-11. The pull-down menus 31, 32, 33 aredisplayed as the user mouses over or touches the primary navigationheader fields 34, 35, 36 on, e.g., the home page 11 of FIG. 2. Thepull-down menus 31, 32, 33 and the associated primary navigation headers34, 35, 36 may be semi-transparent in appearance and their colorpre-defined for each room or other project image. Menu items in thepull-downs 31, 32, 33 may be configurable, via the management interfacedescribed below, to allow updates, for example, associated with amonthly refresh of the featured project.

The semi-transparent pull-down menus 31, 32, 33 illustrated in FIGS.9-11 are preferably designed to maintain an elegant look and feel whilestill being easily scanned by the user and are designed to furtherpromote user exploration of the website resources. As shown in FIG. 9,the “explore color” menu 31 provides the following links 57-61 to otherweb pages: “Explore Color,” “Behr's Virtual Color Center,” “Shop forColor Samples,” “Learn About Color,” “Visualizing Your Colors withColorSmart,” and “Learn About Paint Your Place.” Clicking or selectingthe “Explore Color” link 57 causes loading of the ColorSmart® colorselection and coordination software application, which may provide colorselection and coordination features such as disclosed in U.S. PatentApp. Pub. No. U.S. 2006/0001677 A1 and U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. U.S.2006/0195369 A1, both incorporated herein by reference. Clicking orselecting the “Behr's Virtual Color Center” link 58 causes generation ofthe “Behr Virtual Color Center” (VCC) page illustrated in FIGS. 11 and12. All links in all drop downs are configurable via the CMS.

The “inspiration” menu 32 of FIG. 10 provides links generally designedto assist the user in color selection. These links 63-68 include “GetInspired,” “Browse Our Galleries,” “Interior/Exterior” links,“ExploreColor,” “Design Library,” “What's New,” and “Shop For ColorSamples.”

The “project center” drop-down menu 33 of FIG. 11 provides links to webpages which, among other things, assist the user in beginning andexecuting a painting or other project, and storing results and ideasalong the way. The drop-down menu provides the following links 69-75:“Start Your Project,” “Browse Our Products,” “Explore How To's,” “FindProject Ideas,” “Shop For Color Samples,” “Visualize Your Colors WithColorSmart,” and “Explore Paint World.”

As noted above, checking or selecting the “Behr's Virtual Color Center”link 58 on the explore color drop down menu 31 of FIG. 9 causesgeneration of a virtual color center web page 100, which displays avirtual color center (VCC) 101, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. The VCCdisplay 101 of FIG. 13 includes twenty-one color family groups e.g. 135,arranged in three rows 103, 105, 107 and seven columns 109-125. Thecolor family group rows include a pure colors row 103, a muted colorsrow 105, and a shaded colors row 107. The seven columns include, fromleft to right, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple andneutrals/black color columns respectively numbered 109, 111, 113, 115,117, 119, 121. The virtual color center display 101 may further includea plurality of brochures, e.g. 136. In an illustrative example, thereare two columns 123, 125 and four rows 127, 129, 131, 133 of suchbrochures. In one embodiment, a “View Tutorial” button may also beprovided on the VCC page, 100 whereby clicking on the button willtrigger a movie demo of the VCC 101 and how to use it.

FIG. 14 illustrates the display of a first of the color family groups135 on the computer display apparatus, e.g. 305, FIG. 1. Each of thecolor family group displays in the first two rows 103, 105 may beconstructed in the same manner as color family group 135 with three cardrows 137, 139, 141. The first card row 137 includes a style card 143followed by a number of color stripe cards 145, ten being shown in theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 14. The second row 139 includes a whitecolors header card 147, followed by three white color cards 149,followed by eight color stripe cards, e.g., 150. The third and last row141 includes a saturated colors header 151 and a succession of, forexample, eleven cards 153, each having a selected saturated colordisplayed thereon.

In one embodiment, a saturated colors header and subsequent saturatedcards row do not appear in “shaded” color families, i.e., those familiesin the third row 107 of FIG. 13. Otherwise, the color family groups inthe last row 107 of the VCC display 101 may be constructed in the manneras those in the first two rows 105, 107. In the display of FIG. 14, fourbuttons 155 are also provided, one on each side of the color family toprovide links, for example, to adjacent color families in the display101.

In one illustrative embodiment, as a user mouses over a color family,e.g., 135 in the VCC 101 of FIG. 13, a rectangular white frame 157animates into position around the thus-selected color family 135 tohighlight it, thus placing it in a highlighted state. Users can selectany color family from the VCC display 101 by clicking on that colorfamily. Upon clicking, the full VCC 101 display of FIG. 13 is replacedwith the selected color family display, e.g., 135 of FIG. 14 viaanimation.

In an illustrative embodiment of such animation, the VCC display 101dissolves and disappears as the color family 135 gradually moves outfrom its highlighted position in FIG. 13 and enlarges to the centralprominent position and size illustrated in FIG. 14. This gradualmovement and enlargement is further illustrated in FIG. 37. Thereafter,a miniature version 159 of the VCC display 101 appears in a so-called“thumbnail” navigation frame in the upper left corner of the display ofFIG. 14, with the reduced-size display 158 of the selected family 135still framed in white by frame 157. Clicking on any of the other colorfamilies of FIG. 13 similarly causes that family to move and enlargefrom its position in FIG. 13 to a central prominent position, asillustrated in FIGS. 14 and 37.

A “Back to All Colors” link 161 enables the user to return to the fullpage version of the VCC 101 shown in FIG. 13. When this link 161 isselected, e.g. by clicking on it, the thumbnail frame display 159disappears, as the display 135 reduces in size while simultaneouslymoving left to return to its position in FIG. 13 as the display of FIG.13 reappears.

Additionally, other color families may be selected on the thumbnailversion 159 of the VCC 101 of FIG. 14. When another color family, e.g.161, is touched by the cursor, a white border appears around it tohighlight it. Upon clicking on the family 161, the color of family 135dissolves away and is replaced by an enlarged version of the newlyselected color family 161 in the center of the display of FIG. 14.

In one embodiment, after a color family, e.g. 135, appears in thedisplay of FIG. 14, a “Did You Know” box 163 slides in from the rightvertical edge 165 of the display, along with a “What You Should KnowAbout Viewing Colors” information box 167 and a link 169. Clicking thelink 169 causes an informational block to appear with text cautioningthat colors may not reproduce accurately on the display monitor.

FIG. 15 illustrates operation of the system when the cursor rolls overor touches the style card 143 of the display of FIG. 14. In particular,the Style Card 143 is highlighted by a surrounding rectangular border orframe 144, which may, for example, comprise a white border. Clicking onthe Style Card 143 in FIG. 15 results in the display of the Style Card143 shown in FIG. 16. In an illustrative embodiment, when clicked upon,the Style Card 143 of FIG. 14 moves right and enlarges to the centerposition shown in FIG. 16, while the display of the whole color family135 moves left and gradually decreases in size to a miniature version171 positioned at the center left edge or margin 173 of the displaybeneath the miniature version 159 of the VCC display 101.

Clicking on the Style Card 143 on the display of FIG. 16 causes theStyle Card 143 to open via animation into three panels 175, 176, 177 asshown in FIG. 17. In one embodiment, the left panel 175 of the StyleCard 143 opens first and then the right panel 177 opens to reveal thecenter panel 176. Each panel 175, 176, 177 displays a room or otherproject image e.g. 179 with, for example, a room 180 painted with therespective colors, e.g. 181, 183, 185, 187, displayed in the colorpalette 189 located beneath the room scene 180. The large color chip 181of the palette may display, for example, the primary color applied, e.g.to the wall of the room, e.g. 180, in each panel 175,176,177.

Clicking on one of the individual panels 175, 176, 179 of the card 143of FIG. 17 causes a Color Summary Contextual Menu page 191 to move intothe display from the right edge 165 thereof, as illustrated, forexample, in FIG. 18. The color summary page 191 lists the color namesfor the colors shown in the palette, e.g. 189 of the selected panel. Thecolor summary page 191 provides the same functions as the color summarymenu 41 of FIG. 5. Additionally, by clicking on a “page” icon e.g. “Page1” of FIG. 18, each individual page, e.g. 175, may be displayed alone byitself on the display. In an illustrative embodiment, the unselectedpanels rapidly dissolve, while the selected panel moves and enlarges tofront and center of the display. Clicking on a “page” icon 172, FIG. 17,permits paging through, for example, six pages of the style card 143. Inone embodiment, after clicking on icon 172, the first panel 175 isinitially displayed along with a link below it reading “Page 1 of 6”with adjacent “back” and “forward” links. These links permit movingthrough the six style card pages. Clicking a “forward” link, forexample, results in display of the second panel or page 176.

FIG. 19 illustrates the display which is generated when color stripecard 185 of the family group 135 is selected, e.g. by clicking on it inthe reduced-size frame 171 in the left margin 173 of the display or byclicking on the same card 185 in the full size VCC display 101 of FIG.13. In one illustrative embodiment, a white highlighting border 187 alsoappears around the card 185 in the reduced size frame 171, again placingit in a highlighted state, which may remain until another selectionoperation occurs. Animation-wise, when selected from the reduced sizeframe 171, the card 185 moves from its left margin position in display172 to the center of the display screen, while simultaneously enlargingto the size illustrated in FIG. 19. The card 185 shown in FIG. 19contains three color stripes 189, 191, 193, which may display threedifferent colors, e.g. “Ballerina Gown,” “Poetic Princess” and “PalaceRose.” Directional arrows 195 in FIG. 19 permit navigation to adjacentcolor stripe cards.

Clicking on the color stripe card 185 in FIG. 19 causes a “Color SummaryContextual Menu” 197 to move into the display from the right edge 165thereof as shown in FIG. 20 to permit the user to select colors foraddition to the user's log of selected color samples, to coordinate withColor Smart, or to order color samples.

FIG. 21 illustrates selection of one of the “Saturated” color chips 153from the third row 141 of the color family 135. As with the stripe card185, a selected saturated color chip 153 is framed by a white border 201in the reduced-size frame 171 displayed at the left margin 173 of thedisplay. In one animated embodiment, the saturated color chip 153 movesout of the display 171 to its central position of FIG. 21 whilesimultaneously enlarging. Navigational direction arrows 203 are againprovided to enable selection and display of adjacent color chips orcards. “White” cards 149 exhibit the same behavior as saturated cards.

When the cursor rolls over or touches a brochure located in the rightmost two columns of the display of FIG. 13, the selected brochure 143 ishighlighted in the same manner as a style card by a surroundingrectangular border or frame, which may, for example, comprise a whiteborder. Clicking on a brochure in FIG. 13 results in the display of thebrochure 553 shown in FIG. 40. In an illustrative embodiment, whenclicked upon, the brochure 553 moves out of the FIG. 13 display 101 andenlarges to the center position shown in FIG. 40, while the display ofthe whole VCC moves to the upper left corner and gradually decreases insize to a miniature version 555 positioned in the upper left corner 557of the display of FIG. 40, in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 37.

Clicking on the brochure 553 on the display of FIG. 40 causes thebrochure 553 to open via animation into three panels 575, 576, 577 asshown in FIG. 41. In one embodiment, the left panel 575 of the brochure553 opens first and then the right panel 577 opens to reveal the centerpanel 576, while the brochure shrinks in size and moves to the leftcenter edge of the display. Each panel 575, 576, 577 displaysrespectively a column of four rooms or other project images e.g. 579 andfirst and second paint color charts 581, 583.

Clicking on one of the individual rooms or other project images, e.g.579, causes a color summary page 591 to move into the display from theright edge 165 thereof, as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 42. Thecolor summary page 591 lists the color names for the colors shown in aroom or other image. The color summary page 591 provides the samefunctions as the color summary menu 41 of FIG. 5.

Additionally, by clicking on a “page” icon 572, e.g. “Page” of FIG. 41,each individual page of the six page brochure 553 may be displayed aloneby itself on the display. In an illustrative embodiment, the unselectedpages rapidly dissolve, while the selected page moves and enlarges tofront and center of the display, for example, as shown in FIG. 43.

In one embodiment, after clicking on page icon 572, the first panel 575is initially displayed as shown in FIG. 43 along with a link below itreading “Page 1 of 6” with adjacent “back” and “forward” links 573, 574.These links permit moving sequentially through the six brochure pages.Clicking a “forward” link four times, for example, results in display ofthe fourth page of the brochure 553 shown in FIG. 44. Clicking on theimage of page 4 results in appearance of a color summary page like thatillustrated in FIG. 42 listing the various colors employed in the image.FIGS. 45 and 46 illustrate the fifth and sixth pages 575, 576 of thebrochure 553, which respectively comprise a Project Center pageincluding information regarding suitable uses of various types of paintand another room scene or other image which is associated with anothercolor summary page. The entire brochure 553 may be downloaded as a pdfand printed by clicking icon 578.

In one illustrative embodiment, clicking in the “Browse Our Products”link of the “project center” drop down home page menu 33 shown in FIG.11 or the “Products” link in the header results in display of a screen210 as shown in FIG. 22, which allows the user to select a display ofinterior paint products, exterior paint products, or eco-friendly paintproducts via respective links 211, 213, 215. In one embodiment,selecting link 211, for example, by rolling the cursor over it, revealsa link that, when clicked, causes display of a screen 217, shown in FIG.23. The screen 217 allows the user to select between subsequent displayof either interior paints or primers by clicking respectively, forexample, on a grouping 219 of interior paint cans or a grouping 221 ofprimer paint cans. Selecting the interior paint link causes the group ofcans 219 to animate or move out from the group formation and into a rowof enlarged paint cans 223 with underlying text description as shown inthe display 225 of FIG. 24. The display may be arranged such that thecans may enlarge when touched by the cursor. Clicking on or selecting a“compare these interior sheens” link 231 of the display of FIG. 24causes generation of the display of FIG. 25, which comprises a colorsheen tool according to an illustrative embodiment.

The Compare Sheens Tool swf displays the various sheen types as depictedin FIG. 25, allowing the user to make informed decisions. The thumbnailsheen designations indicate the breadth of sheen options, while anenlargement of each sheen image is displayed for closer inspection upontouching a particular sheen thumbnail 205 with the cursor,

The Compare Sheens Tool display of FIG. 27 for exterior sheens isdisplayed when the user clicks on the “Compare Sheens” link 232 on thePaints, Premium Plus Exterior Paints, page shown in FIG. 26, which pagemay be selected via the “Browse Our Products” page of FIG. 22.

In one embodiment, when the user hovers on a sheen thumbnail, e.g. 205,209, the selected sheen is displayed as an enlarged image that appearsto float out of the page towards the user. Moving the cursor back andforth over the sheen chip toggles the chip slightly left and right toenhance the displayed sheen characteristics. Moving the cursor off thesheen chip will return the chip to its default state. A link to a usageguide may optionally be provided in the lower right corner of the Tool.

The tool title, tool intro (“Choose The Finish That Fits”), sheen names,sheen thumbnails, sheen features (e.g. “Traditional Matt Sheen”),expanded sheen image, and disclaimer, are part of the sheens tool swf.

One of the links 215 available on the Inspiration drop down menu 32 ofFIG. 10 is “Browse Our Galleries.” Clicking on this link 215 causesdisplay of the page shown in FIG. 28 where the informational “OurGalleries” block 217 animates in from the left edge 219 of the displayand covers a portion of the room display 221, which is, in the exampleshown, a bedroom scene. The bedroom scene and other images accessiblefrom the “Our Galleries” page may include strategically positioned hotspots, e.g. 223, 224, 225, to enable color identification, selection,and ultimate purchase, for example, through use of color menus and colorsample storage mechanisms discussed in connection with FIGS. 5 to 7.

The “Our Galleries” page of FIG. 28 provides for selection of any one ofthree links: “Browse Interior Images 227,” “Browse Exterior Images 229,”and “Search Our Galleries 231.” Touching the “Browse Interior Images”link 227 causes a drop-down display 233 (FIG. 29) of subcategories 235of interior images which may be selected. Further touching one of thesesubcategories 235 causes the display of an informational box 237 toappear and move into the page from left to right to the position shownin FIG. 29. Clicking on the link 239 in the informational box styled“View Decor Elements” leads to display of another page, FIG. 30, showingvarious décor elements with hot spots 241, 243, 245 and having links 247to one or more other décor element displays. Similarly, touching a“Rooms” link in the drop down display 233 of FIG. 29 causes appearancein the informational box 237 of a link to a page shown in FIG. 30facilitating display of a sequence of different rooms, each with adifferent color scheme, with hot spots facilitating identification andselection of colors in the color scheme or palette, via, for example, aColor Summary block 242 as shown in FIG. 31.

In an illustrative embodiment, the VCC page 100 is laid out inquadrants, as shown in FIG. 32. In this embodiment, some page featuresand functions always reside within the same quadrant, for example, thethumbnail navigation elements (i.e. the miniature color rack 159) in theleft quadrant 251. Other page fields, such as the search elements,migrate from the right to the left quadrant as the user navigates to thevarious levels of the virtual color center 101. In one embodiment, stillother page elements such as the contextual menus can be relocated todifferent portions of the page by the user, for their viewingconvenience.

The right quadrant 251 and middle two quadrants 253 are shared page realestate—that is, several different page functions display in these areasas the user navigates the virtual color center 101. To facilitate pageoperation and construction, these functions may be constructed aroundframes that overlay the quadrants of the page.

The functions that share the middle two quadrants 253 space include:

-   -   The entire color center, displayed across all four quadrants of        page (Color Center Frame)    -   A specific color family selected from the color center (Color        Family Frame)    -   A specific color card selected from the color family (Color Card        Frame)    -   Search results from a user-initiated color search (Search        Results Frame)    -   Style Cards from the color rack    -   Magazines from the color rack    -   Brochures from the color rack

As a user mouses over a color family M the color center 101, a text tipmay display with the name of the color family, e.g. 135. As discussedabove, users can select color families from the color center 101 byclicking on the color family. Upon click, the full color center 101 isreplaced with the color family frame via animation. The Color FamilyFrame comes into position in the right ¾ of the page and the ThumbnailNavigation Frame moves into position in the left quadrant 251 of thepage.

The Color Family Frame depicts the collection of stripe, white andsaturated color cards that comprise a color family (see FIG. 14). Theuser can click on any of the color cards in the color family display,causing the Color Family Frame to be replaced with the Color Card Frame,which displays the details of the selected color card (FIG. 19).Directional arrow buttons allow the user to navigate to adjacent colorfamilies in the color center. The Color Card Frame, which displays inthe right three page quadrants 253, 255, depicts the stripe card, whitecard, or saturated color card selected by the user in the Color FamilyFrame.

A button on the contextual menu e.g. 47 allows the user to launch theColorSmart application, pre-loaded with the colors that are check-markedin the menu. Users can also purchase color samples by clicking on theOrder Color Samples button, causing a layer to open up with the “Add toCart” pages or Add colors to the My Colors samples menu, e.g. 44, FIG.7. As colors are added to the color sample bin, they are reflected in aColor Bin Frame situated in the right quadrant 255 of the page.

In the left quadrant 251 of the page, the Thumbnail Navigation framecontains elements such as illustrated in FIG. 16, elements that allowthe user to search for specific colors, as well as navigate through thevirtual color center 101. The Thumbnail Navigation frame does notdisplay at page instantiation or at any time when the full color center(Color Center Frame) is displayed on the page. In one embodiment, theThumbnail Navigation frame is only displayed when the user has selecteda color family, brochure or magazine from the Color Center Frame, orwhen search results are displayed on the VCC page 100.

At page instantiation, a Search field 102, FIG. 12, displays in thelower right corner of the page 100. The field 102 consists of the colorsearch elements—search string text field and Search buttons. Entering acolor name or Behr color number and clicking the Search button brings upa Search Results Frame in the middle quadrants 253 of the page, whichdisplays the results of the search.

The Search elements 102 are repositioned when other page frames (ColorFamily, Color Card, Search Results, Brochures, and Magazines) aredisplayed on the page. In these cases, the search elements 102 are movedto the left quadrant 251, at the bottom of the frame.

In the right three quadrants 253, 255 of the VCC page 100, the resultsof user-initiated color searches may be presented for user review andaction in a Search Results Frame wherein each color match to the user'ssearch criteria is displayed as a checkbox/color chip/color namecombination, in a scrollable field. Also, icons may display whichindicate whether a color is found in a style card, brochure, or stripecard.

Navigational aids are also displayed in the Thumbnail Navigation frame.As a user drills deeper into the color center 101, additional visualaids such as various highlighting border frames previously describedappear to indicate where the user is in the color center 101. A user canuse the visual aids to navigate forward and backward through the colorcenter, for example, to retrace their way back through the click-pathused to reach the currently displayed web page. The user can move to adifferent stripe card, move to a different color family, or view abrochure. A visual aid does not display until a user has clicked on acolor family, a brochure or magazine in the VCC display 100. When theuser clicks on a color family, the miniature color center 157 isdisplayed. There is a visual indicator, e.g. highlighting border, in themini-color center identifying which color family is on view. If the userclicks on a color card, the selected color card is displayed in theColor Card Frame again, in the middle quadrants 253 of the page.

The miniature color family navigational frame, e.g. 171, indicates tothe user their current location within a particular color family in thecolor center 101. This navigational aid depicts the various color familyelements—style card, stripe cards, white cards, and saturated colorcards. As the user navigates through the color family, the currentlydisplayed card is highlighted in the miniature frame. By clicking on anycolor stripe card in the miniature family frame, the user is navigatedto a full page display of the contents of that selected card. Clickingon the various elements in the miniature color family frame navigatesthe user to that specific card (See FIG. 11) as follows:

-   -   Click on the Style Card element: VCC main frame displays the        Style Card Cover    -   Click on the Stripe Card element: VCC main frame displays the        specific Stripe Card    -   Click on the Saturated Card element: VCC main frame displays the        specific Saturated Card    -   Click on the White Card element: VCC main frame displays the        specific White Card

When the Style Card Cover Frame, Style Card Spread Frame (e.g. FIG. 17),or Style Card Page Frame are displayed on the VCC page 100, the searchelements displayed in the Thumbnail Navigation Frame consist of a Searchlabel, Search String text field and Search button.

From the Color Family Frame on the VCC page 100, the user may click onthe style card in the displayed color family (e.g. FIG. 14). As shown inFIG. 18, upon click, the Style Card Cover Frame animates into the rightthree quadrants 253, 255, of the VCC page. The name of the current colorfamily is displayed to the right of an image depicting the cover of theselected style card.

Arrow keys allow the user to navigate to adjoining stripe and whitecards in the current color family. As the user navigates through theother color family cards, the Mini-Color Family highlighting border inthe Search & Navigate frame updates to display the currently selectedcolor card.

A link 144 (FIG. 16) allows the user to download a PDF version of thecard. Clicking on a link 146 “Open Style Card,” or display on the StyleCard itself causes the three inside pages of the Style Card, e.g. 143,in a Style Card Spread Frame. The “Did You Know” box 117 and “ViewingColor Online” link 169 display to the right of a style card (FIG. 16)when it is in the closed state. The three combo cards, 175, 176, 177that comprise the style card are displayed in the Style Card SpreadFrame (FIG. 17). This frame occupies the two middle quadrants 253 of theVCC page and replaces the Style Card Cover Frame.

The inside pages, front cover, back cover and inner flap pages of thestyle card can all be viewed in the Style Card Spread Frame. By defaultat frame instantiation, all inside pages of the style card are displayedserially across the Style Card Spread Frame as shown in FIG. 17. Thefront cover, back cover and inner flap pages can be similarly viewed byclicking on the other links shown in FIG. 17. Below each page image inthe Style Card Spread Frame, the page name and page number aredisplayed. By clicking on either the page image or page number, the useris navigated to a Style Card Page Frame, which displays a detailed viewof the selected style card page. Links at the lower right of the StyleCard Page Frame may allow the user to toggle between a page-spread viewand a single-page view of the card. Clicking on the single page viewlink will navigate the user to the Style Card Page Frame. A linksituated adjacent the style card title may be provided to allow the userto download a PDF of the complete style card.

Right and left arrow buttons allow the user to easily navigate to any ofthe style card pages when in page view. The style card pages may consistof an inspirational image and the component colors (main, trim, andaccent colors) associated with the image. In one embodiment, clickinganywhere on the style card page image displays a contextual menu such asmenu 191 of FIG. 18. All colors are preferably listed in the contextualmenu, for example, by Color Chip, Color Name, Color Number and aCheckbox is provided for each color. Users can select color(s) and thenSave to Cart, Add to My Colors, or Preview with ColorSmart using theassociated buttons on the contextual menu e.g. 191.

An illustrative embodiment of a website 401 for providing content to anend user as described above is shown in FIG. 33. The website 401 employsfirst and second load balancers 403, 405, which communicate with a pairof web servers 407, 409, for example, such as Apache web servers. Theweb servers 407, 409 further communicate with five application (Jboss)servers 411, 413, 415, 417, 419, which are arranged to access a databasecomprising digital storage media and database server 421. Additionally,the application servers, e.g. 411, may communicate through a loadbalancer 423 with first and second Autonomy Servers 425, 427.

The operation of the system of FIG. 33 may be illustrated as follows.The end user opens a browser on his computer, e.g. 301, and enters arequest to visit http://www.behr.com. The request reaches the two Ciscoload balancers 407, 409. One of the load balancers, e.g. 407, passes therequest to one of two Apache web servers 407, 409. The Apache webserver, e.g. 409, analyzes the request and determines if it can behandled locally, i.e. checks to see if the object exists in the serverdocument root. Any portion of the request that can be fulfilled by theApache server 409 is typically static content, i.e. .png, .jpg, .swf,.css, .js, .html, .txt, resident in digital storage on the server 409.Any portion of the request that can not be served by the Apache server409 is passed back to the Jboss server, e.g. 411, for example,configured context roots, dynamic content, and processing requests suchas a logon event. The application server 411 then processes the portionof the request forwarded to it. If additional data is needed from thedatabase 421, for example, a username, password, or workbook, theapplication server 411 retrieves that data from the database 421. Theapplication server 411 then sends processed data back out through thewebserver 409 to the client residing on the computer 301 of the end user406, in this case the web browser 408. Web browser 408 reassembles thedata and renders the page in the browser, which causes display on thedisplay apparatus 410 of the user's computer 412. The servers then waitfor next request.

In one embodiment, in response to the user's initial access, a website(client) application is transmitted to the user's computer, e.g. 404,and runs in the browser of the user computer. In one embodiment, thewebsite application is a SWF application which controls flash playeranimation on the user's display, for example, how various featuresanimate in and out or fade in or out. The actual content of a particularpage is pulled dynamically from the server system in response to userselection (“clicking”) operations. The web server supplies datacomprising the XML code, which defines the active content to bedisplayed, to the user's flash player along with the static content,e.g. a home page project image in, for example, HTML format.

Thus, for example, when the user selects a home page the websiteapplication accesses the server system which supplies the project image,hot spot location, colors to display in connection with the hot spotfunctionality, the drop down elements (menus) and tells the SWFapplication what to build.

In one embodiment, the virtual color center is constructed as a separateAdobe Flex application. In one such embodiment, each color familyquadrant and each brochure may be a separate FLEX image. In thisembodiment, other elements are dynamically drawn by the websiteapplication residing on the user computer, for example, in the displayof a selected color family such as shown in FIG. 14. The particularcolors displayed in any particular screen are pulled from an XML table.An XML data structure is used to define a color name, how to display itand to establish the relationship between display elements fornavigation purposes. For example, the data structure establishes whichcolor card to display next in response to the activation arrows 155 ofFIG. 14.

An embodiment for controlling, managing and configuring the display ofweb pages or display screens such as described above is shown in FIG.34. In an illustrative embodiment, a Content Management System (CMS) 401interfacing with a Vignette database 403 at the backend of the systemfacilitates changing the face of the website by non-software developersor content contributors. As an example, a Vignette control page, FIG.35, resides in the CMS 401 and is displayable to a content contributorfor controlling the deployed home page, e.g. as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.The control page includes a left hand column of “fields”, for example“Footer”, “HTML Viewable” “Header, Primary Menu” etc., each of whichprovides access to a screen enabling adjustment of the related aspect ofthe home page. For example, “Home Page Image Rotation” may be selectedto cause display of the screen of FIG. 36, which enables the CMS contentcontributor/user to adjust the probability of one of the two home pagespopping up, for example, Green Room—70%/Sprinklers 30% may be selected,or any other desired ratio. “HTML Viewable” permits configuring what theend user sees when the flash player is not operating, while “PrimaryMenu” is used to adjust what the end user sees in the three dropdownmenus 34, 35, 36.

Thus, the CMS 401 enables periodic updating of various features, andrenders the featured project image and all associated home page elementseasily configurable. In an illustrative embodiment, configuration of allhome page elements, rotation algorithms and weighting factors aremanageable via the CMS 401. In similar fashion, animation elements maybe made readily configurable via the management interface. Hotspot andWelcome Message placement, pull-down menu colors, menu transparency, andmenu elements all may be configurable to ensure visual compatibilitywith the featured project image.

In an illustrative embodiment, a hotspot, e.g. 21, 23, such aspreviously described in connection with FIGS. 2-6 is a component createdby a software developer by creating an object which defines how thehotspot is to behave, coding the animation behavior e.g.—how the hotspotis supposed to flicker, defining the “roll over response,” and themethod by which the information is inputted from the back end 401 topopulate the color information, i.e. what color names are to appear in a“Color Summary” menu, e.g. 43, FIG. 6.

On the backend, a method is built to maintain the image in the CMS 401,and associated with the image is data such as the XY coordinates ofwhere the hot spot is to be located on the display screen and the datadefining the colors associated with it. A content contributor may go into the CMS 401 and find a place in an image where it is desired that ahot spot appear, add the XY coordinates, and define the colors.

In one embodiment, a Content Delivery Application (“CDA”) resides oneach of the application servers 411-419. When the Flex front end makes arequest, the CDA builds the requisite XML code from data on the servers'memory, e.g. hard drive, if the requisite data is available in thatmemory. If not, the CDA makes the request to Vignette database and whenthe data is returned, it is cached on the application server. The XMLdata is returned by the CDA to the Flex front end which reads it inorder to determine what to display.

In one embodiment, the system provides the ability to control responseto a selection operation on a particular screen display from the CMS401, also described as allowing HREF behavior on a Flash interface wherecontent is maintained in the CMS 401. This feature provides theflexibility to link to another portion of the site, to another URL, to apop-up, a pdf file in the same application, or to another window, theparticular operation being selectable from the CMS 401. For example, a“Link Destination” display screen may allow selection of the Type oflink. “Types” include a field to type in a URL to another site,“Channels” which allows specification of a particular web page e.g.“Behr/Header/“Contact Us” to define the “Contact Us” page, or “staticfile”, which allows specification of a pdf file. Thus, one can go intothe CMS and delete a link which appears, for example, on the home page,but the website application does not change. The link will be omittedbecause the client application is not supplied by the server with theactual instructions provisioning the display and functionalityassociated with that link.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations andmodifications of the just described embodiments can be configuredwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore,it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims,the invention may be practiced other than as specifically describedherein.

1. A paint color selection apparatus comprising: a website comprisingone or more servers or computers for supplying data for generating aplurality of web pages, the web pages comprising: a first home page fordisplay on a computer controlled display apparatus, the first home pagecomprising a first featured project image employing a plurality ofdifferent colors, each color located in a respective region of saidimage; at least one hot spot located in one of said regions, the hotspot comprising an attention-drawing animation feature; and wherein afirst selection operation performable on said hot spot causes display ofat least one color name, said color name being that of the color of theregion where said hot spot lies.
 2. The paint color selection apparatusof claim 1 wherein a second selection operation performed on said hotspot causes display of a color summary menu comprising a listing of aplurality of colors present in said project image.
 3. The paint colorselection apparatus of claim 2 wherein said first selection operationfurther causes display of a link to said color summary menu.
 4. Thepaint color selection apparatus of claim 1 wherein a portion of saidproject image is animated to simulate real-life operation of a portionof said image.
 5. The paint color selection apparatus of claim 4 whereinsaid project image comprises a home and front lawn and wherein theproject image is animated to simulate water spraying from one or moresprinklers disposed on the lawn.
 6. The paint color selection apparatusof claim 4 wherein said project image comprises an interior room havinga fireplace and wherein the project image is animated to cause thefireplace to appear to be burning.
 7. The paint color selectionapparatus of claim 1 wherein said web pages further comprise a secondhome page comprising a second featured project image, said secondproject image employing a plurality of different colors each in arespective area of said image and wherein said website further comprisessoftware operable to cause appearance of said first and second homepages according to a selected ratio of appearance.
 8. The paint colorselection apparatus of claim 7 wherein said second project image furthercomprises: a plurality of second hot spots, one located in each of saidareas, each second hot spot employing an attention-drawing animationfeature; and wherein a third selection operation on one of said secondhot spots causes display of at least one color name, said color namebeing that of the color of the area wherein the second hot spot lies. 9.The paint color selection apparatus of claim 7 wherein a fourthselection operation on said second hot spot causes display of a colorsummary menu comprising a listing of a plurality of colors present insaid second project image.
 10. The paint color selection apparatus ofclaim 7 wherein said third selection operation further causes display ofa link to a color summary menu.
 11. The paint color selection apparatusof claim 7 wherein a portion of said second project image is animated tosimulate life-like operation of a portion of said image.
 12. The paintcolor selection apparatus of claim 7 wherein said first project imagecomprises a home and front lawn and wherein the animation comprisessimulating water spraying from one or more sprinklers disposed on saidlawn and wherein said second project image comprises an interior roomhaving a fireplace and wherein the animation comprises causing thefireplace to appear to be burning.
 13. The paint color selectionapparatus of claim 1 further wherein said web pages further comprise acolor sheen selection tool, providing a display comprising a pluralityof color sheen chips, each chip representing a different selected sheenand wherein touching a selected sheen chip causes an enlarged image ofthe chip to appear and wherein a further operation causes the chip tomove slightly to the left and slightly to the right to enhance thedisplay of the sheen's characteristics.
 14. The paint color selectionapparatus of claim 12 wherein said web pages further comprise a colorsheen selection tool providing a display comprising a plurality of colorsheen chips, each chip colored to represent a different selected sheenand wherein touching a selected sheen chip causes an enlarged image ofthe chip to appear and wherein a further operation causes the chip tomove slightly to the left and slightly to the right to enhance thedisplay of the sheen's characteristics.
 15. The paint color selectionapparatus of claim 1 wherein animation of said hot spot comprisesenlargement thereof in response to touching.
 16. The paint colorselection apparatus of claim 1 wherein animation of said hot spotcomprises pulsing or blinking.
 17. The paint color selection apparatusof claim 1 wherein said hot spot comprises a pulsing or blinking,rounded chip shape.
 18. An automated method for providing colorselection capability to a user comprising: employing one or moreprogrammed computers to perform a plurality of operations in conjunctionwith a computer readable medium or media, the operations comprising:providing a first home page for display on a computer controlleddisplay, the first home page comprising a first featured project imageemploying a plurality of different colors, each color located in arespective region of said image; positioning at least one hot spot inone of said regions, the hot spot comprising an attention-drawinganimation feature; and the one or more computers being responsive to afirst selection operation performable on said hot spot to cause displayof at least one color name, said color name being that of the color ofthe region where said hot spot lies.
 19. The method of claim 18 whereinsaid one or more computers are responsive to a second selectionoperation on said hot spot to display a color summary menu comprising alisting of a plurality of colors present in said project image.
 20. Apaint color selection apparatus comprising: at least one server fortransmitting data defining a first home page, the first home pagecomprising a first featured project image employing a plurality ofdifferent colors, each color located in a respective region of saidimage; at least one hot spot located in one of said regions, the hotspot comprising an attention-drawing animation feature; wherein a firstselection operation on said hot spot causes display of at least onecolor name, said color name being that of the color of the region wheresaid hot spot lies; and a computer controlled display apparatus adaptedto display said home page.
 21. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein asecond selection operation on said hot spot causes display of a colorsummary menu comprising a listing of a plurality of colors present insaid project image.
 22. Computer software comprising: a computer usablemedium or media; computer readable program code embodied in said mediumor media, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed byone or more computers to generate a first home page, said home pagecomprising: a first featured project image employing a plurality ofdifferent colors, each color located in a respective region of saidimage; at lease one hot spot located in one of said regions, the hotspot comprising an attention-drawing animation feature; and wherein afirst selection operation on said hot spot causes display of at leastone color name, said color name being that of the color of the regionwhere said hot spot lies.
 23. An apparatus comprising: a websitecomprising one or more servers or computers for supplying data forgenerating a plurality of web pages, the web pages comprising: a firstweb page for display on a computer controlled display apparatus, thefirst web page comprising an image of a selected product; at least onehot spot located on said product, the hot spot comprising anattention-drawing animation feature; and wherein a first selectionoperation performable on said hot spot causes display of at least oneinformational element regarding said product.
 24. The paint colorselection apparatus of claim 1 wherein a second selection operationperformed on said hot spot causes display of a product detail page. 25.The apparatus of claim 23 wherein animation of said hot spot comprisesenlargement thereof in response to touching.
 26. The apparatus of claim23 wherein animation of said hot spot comprises pulsing or blinking. 27.The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said hot spot comprises a pulsing orblinking, rounded chip shape.
 28. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein saidinformational element comprises the name of the product.
 29. Theapparatus of claim 23 wherein said first selection operation comprisesmoving a cursor over said hot spot.
 30. The apparatus of claim 24 hereinsaid second selection operation comprises clicking on said hot spot. 31.The paint color selection apparatus of claim 1 wherein said colorsummary menu contains first, second, and third links respectivelyenabling the user to: add selected colors to a log of saved samples,order a sample of a selected color, or access a color coordinationapplication for coordinating a selected color with other colors.
 32. Theapparatus of claim 23 wherein said hot spot initially appears to pop outtoward a user and then retreats to a normal position.
 33. The apparatusof claim 23 wherein said hot spot comprises first and second ringsconcentric with an inner circle.